Steven M. Sipple: Missouri over NU? Absolutely
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No way Nebraska beats Missouri on Saturday night. Won’t happen.
No way first-year Husker head coach Bo Pelini beats Gary Pinkel, in his eighth season at suddenly mighty Mizzou. Absolutely can’t happen, right?
Right?
Well, first-year Ole Miss head coach Houston Nutt absolutely had no business ambushing third-year Florida head coach Urban Meyer in the Swamp last weekend. Who saw that coming? Who saw Southern California succumbing at Oregon State?
Absolutely nobody.
But in handicapping Missouri vs. Nebraska, you have to figure you’re getting reasonably close to an absolute. In a big-picture sense, seems every sign points to a Tiger triumph.
Pelini often says (correctly) that Nebraska remains “a work in progress.” He said it again Tuesday. It’s almost become a mantra for the program.
Meanwhile, Missouri’s spread offense has become a work of art.
Work in progress vs. work of art?
Choose the work of art, absolutely.
Bottom line, Missouri has a huge advantage in that it knows thyself as a program, especially on offense, while Nebraska remains in the formative stages of the Pelini project. That became clear in the Huskers’ 35-30 loss to Virginia Tech. The Big Red vessel looked unsteady in all three phases of the game, although this is a fighting Big Red bunch, and brawlers always have a chance.
No disrespect to Pinkel — he’s already been disrespected by enough pundits over the years — but he could probably stay home Saturday and watch Missouri win. His program is that stable, and Chase Daniel is that good.
That’s no disrespect to Pelini and company, either. Fact is, Daniel is completing 75.9 percent of his passes. He’s thrown 12 touchdown passes and only one interception. What’s more, he is an excellent field general. You hear “coach on the field” and roll your eyes, but it absolutely applies in this case.
Pinkel has coached five NFL quarterbacks, “but (Daniel’s) the best natural leader I’ve coached and the most accurate guy I’ve ever seen.”
A senior, the 6-foot, 225-pound Daniel is in his eighth straight season as a wideout or quarterback in a spread attack. He’s a quintessential gym rat who’s life has long centered on operating a spread system with the precision of a trained assassin.
Before last season, Daniel boldly proclaimed he saw no reason Missouri couldn’t finish first or second nationally in total offense (the Tigers finished fifth at 490.29 yards per game). He stated they had the ability to average 40 points (they averaged 39.9). He predicted they could “easily” win 10 games (they were 12-2).
This season, fourth-ranked Mizzou (4-0) is averaging 595.5 yards and 53.8 points.
Daniel’s been playing pitch and catch with Chase Coffman, Jared Perry, Tommy Saunders and Danario Alexander for three years, and superstar Jeremy Maclin for two.
Like many artists, Daniel has come to expect perfection.
Meanwhile, it’s sometimes difficult to say what Nebraska expects from its offense.
“Philosophically, everybody gets caught up in so many things when they talk about offenses,” Nebraska offensive coordinator Shawn Watson said in July. “But what’s really, really, really, really important is being able to rush the football. If you’re going to be a champion, you have to be able to rush the football.”
If Nebraska expects to upset Mizzou, the Huskers likely will have to rush the football and chew up the clock
Against Virginia Tech, Nebraska rushed 25 times for 55 yards (2.2 per carry). On its first two possessions, NU ran pass plays on third-and-3 and third-and-2, respectively, failing to convert both times. After the game, Husker offensive line coach Barney Cotton told reporters they make way too much out of the team’s rushing woes.
It appears Nebraska is struggling to find its identity on offense.
Missouri, meanwhile, has a firm grasp on its identity as a program. That time will come for Nebraska under Pelini. You already see signs of considerable progress.
A lot of people wanted to pull the plug on Pinkel, but he figured things out nicely. Now, the Tigers are poised to end a 30-year winless drought in Lincoln, absolutely.
Reach Steven M. Sipple at 473-7440 or ssipple@journalstar.com.
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